Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-04-23
A FATAL FLAW.
Tho Petition for Reincorporatfon De-
fectiye in a Vital Point.

.,o,t Forty of the Signers OF That re
tition No, Freeholders. Which Invali
d.t.s All Proceedings Hereunder
.-tlinp Array of Facts Unearthed.
Whatever may be the shortcomings OF tn,
uoiucorporation act in itself, and however
.oh the friends and hackers Of that meas
.,o desired to promote it's success, no ont
"o,ld believe that they would resort to I'm.
,o.h,nd means to bring it before the PEG
.to It might be faulty in it's provisions
r., the changes in the method OF municipal
aorernment contemplated; it might be arbi.
.rsrv in powers it confers on the governing
,aar. there may nave been mistakes in the
oori in which it was passed and the omi-
Snns silence regarding it's contents up to the
inst moment publication could be delayed
hmt that the proceedings under it at the
p mr start should not be fair and above
hoard is what no one would be prepared to
hear. And yet the discovery made by The
INNER Yesterday would seem to
;ndicate that those who circulated
.he petition to the Council did
aot take ordinary p%recaution to comply
NTH the requirement. ~ oIIo VT oudU uOu6
tm+ freehnlders should sign it. The petit
.inn must be signed by ut least two hun
tI,d ireelolders-the very provision that
has so alarmed the community-and an in
r,stigation Of the petition shows that Of
.be POP siglers about forty, on a cursory
domination, are not %ireeholders at all.
Here's a pretty how-d'ye-do!' That the
mpu who were quietly ~endeavoripg to fas-
Con the incubus which this new charter
.nrA be upon our citizens should allow
suba fatal flaw as this TO creep into the
rr, preliminary proceedings, argues either
ross carelessness or a very much worse
/ d.ign.
The facts, as laid bare SO far, are as fol-
lows: Mr.. Koch, representing THE MINER,
went to Clerk Hamilton on Monday and
asked to see the petition on which
the Council called the election to take
place on Thursday, the 2Sth, and
was informed that it was at his private
office. Yesterday he went to the clerks
private office and there saw the petition
and copied the names attached to it. TAX
irg his copy he went to the Office OF a real
estate firm and consulted them as to the
names of those on the petition. He there
some information about the names
on he list and in order to make assurance
doubly sure he went to Mr.. kessler and
consulted him. The result OF his inquiries
was to prove that about forty ofthe names
on the list are not freeholders. Mr.. Kessler
set his deputy at work to 90 yer the list
more fully to-day and the result OF his in
yestigations will appear in The MINER to-
morrow.
| As examples OF the straits to which those
| who circulated the petition we're put to
find feeholders, one of the signere appears
mbicly in the Inter Mountain of yesterday
with the statement: II am not q free
holder
There are five or six residents of Hickey's
addition who signed the petition who are
simply squatters and of course own no free.
hold right.
One man owns a cabin which he put up .
ION another's land, for the permission to do
which he looks after some wood on the !
ground.
/ But enough has been discovered to put
the petition in it's little bed forever. The i
fa " is fatal to any further action or the !
ease. An attorney will be engaged who j
will 20 direct to Deer Lodge and lay the
|acts before Judge Galbraith in chambers, e
khen a writ of prohibition will be OBJ /
and the special election on the 2Sth
kill be peremptorily forbidden. In any
base the opponents of incorporation need
bot worry about finding arguments against |
ts ineficiency. 1t cannot come up for n
(doption or rejection under the present Pc I
Elton. Z